Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 #1 Advanced Review

   I don't consider myself a Buffy aficionado, seeing as I have only watched the first four episodes of the series. This was not because I didn't like show, but because I missed the show when it was first on TV, and just now am going back and renting the DVDs. The whole reason I began to get interested in the show was because Joss Whedon dazzled the comic book community, and me as well with his current run on Astonishing X-Men. So once I was exposed to his work, I couldn't get enough. That is what led me to this comic: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 #1. With only the first four episodes under my belt, Wikipedia became a very valuable tool. So after lots of research, and a couple reads, I have to say that Joss Whedon does just as good a job on this comic as he did on the TV show. 
 
   

   The first thing that leapt out at me was that the first part of the issue does a pretty good job of bringing me, a relative “newbie” to the Buffy-verse up to speed. The other cool thing I noticed was that unlike many other TV shows, the cast for this one is still intact from the first season. That's not to say that the cast hasn't gone through changes (plenty of them), and additions haven't been made (plenty of those too). Buffy of course is the main character, Xander makes an appearance, and even Willow is mentioned. Whedon is providing his usual Whedon dialogue, including a very funny exchange where Xander demands that he be called General Fury. Another strangely obvious statement that I should make is that this issue reads a lot like a Buffy episode. I wanted to note that because I would assume that taking a TV show and seamlessly weaving it into an entertaining comic can not be the easiest thing to do. 

   

   Another thing I noticed was that Whedon's dialogue works better in comics than on TV because there isn't the chance that an actor can muck up the delivery of a brilliant line. If I had to boil it down to one sentence, I would say that this issue reminded me a lot of some of Whedon's Astonishing X-Men issues. Not a lot necessarily happens, but you feel like the story is still being advanced in a positive way. Plus, the ending was quite a shock because the big reveal of a character happened to involve a character I was actually familiar with from the first four episodes of the show. 

   
   
   Georges Jeanty provides the pencils for this issue, and he is the kind of artist I love. His art is clear, crisp, and easy to understand. It really makes the comic that much more enjoyable because you don't have to spend time deciphering the art. 
   Whedon looks like he is spinning another enjoyable Buffy yarn that ties to the events of the rest of the series quite well (it's not called Buffy Season 8 for nothing). So if you liked the TV series, or are just looking for a fun, and enjoyable read, then you should definitely give this issue a chance.

Grade: 8.5/10
Review by Christopher Hoerdemann